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Does anyone else get this while traveling?

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reddreadred
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16 Oct 2011, 5:57 pm

I always feel like leaving a place is akin to kicking off one side of a lake and having to swim all the way to the other end, over the perilous deep unknown and all. I only ever really feel safe once I get to the destination and even then some recovery time is necessary. This applies to driving or planes... I get panic attacks (hyperventilation brings on tingling hands) because of this whenever I travel long distances, especially freeways, and sometimes in the course of just ten miles if my day has been rough. Anyone else? Any tips? I'm sick of staying in my bubble.



Sparhawke
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16 Oct 2011, 7:23 pm

I cannot really help you with that, I have always been the opposite, really wanting to go wander off somewhere else to new lands or cities, if only to get away from other people.

What is it specifically you do not like about travelling?

Is there some specific memory that you can pick from your past when it all went wrong which may be the cause of the anxiety?



Kiseki
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16 Oct 2011, 7:53 pm

Yes, I know what you mean. I didn't get on a plane until I was 21 and I didn't leave the country until 26. I am living in Japan now and have been for 5 years, but I have no desire to travel to any of the countries around me. People think this is weird and I should be jetting off to Thailand and Vietnam and China. Travel, for me, is really stressful and time-consuming. If I have a vacation I'd rather spend it in my room relaxing.


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reddreadred
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16 Oct 2011, 7:55 pm

There are several... When I was thirteen I was put on a plane by myself and I had a terrible panic attack with no one to help, back when I did not even understand them. At seventeen a terrible car accident where I wasn't even driving, but I broke a windshield with my head (even though I was wearing a seat belt; though I wasn't injured significantly thanks to safety glass). Doctors have tried to say I also have PTSD from the car accident, but these things were clearly happening prior. I think maybe driving or even riding passenger causes a sensory overload. Something about transitioning from place to place. I wish I knew. I'm not on any medication and dislike the thought of it.



reddreadred
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16 Oct 2011, 8:03 pm

Kiseki wrote:
Yes, I know what you mean. I didn't get on a plane until I was 21 and I didn't leave the country until 26. I am living in Japan now and have been for 5 years, but I have no desire to travel to any of the countries around me. People think this is weird and I should be jetting off to Thailand and Vietnam and China. Travel, for me, is really stressful and time-consuming. If I have a vacation I'd rather spend it in my room relaxing.


Me too. I've traveled thousands and thousands of miles by plane, was a nervous wreck the entire time in transit (including cab rides), but was as fine (as I can be) once I got there and was settled in. The traveling itself takes so much out of me.



Kiseki
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16 Oct 2011, 8:07 pm

reddreadred wrote:
Kiseki wrote:
Yes, I know what you mean. I didn't get on a plane until I was 21 and I didn't leave the country until 26. I am living in Japan now and have been for 5 years, but I have no desire to travel to any of the countries around me. People think this is weird and I should be jetting off to Thailand and Vietnam and China. Travel, for me, is really stressful and time-consuming. If I have a vacation I'd rather spend it in my room relaxing.


Me too. I've traveled thousands and thousands of miles by plane, was a nervous wreck the entire time in transit (including cab rides), but was as fine (as I can be) once I got there and was settled in. The traveling itself takes so much out of me.


Yep, I get SO anxious on planes. Only recently I discovered why and it is due to being enclosed in a small space, surrounded by too many people. The last time I went home I put my headphones on and threw a blanket over my head to create sort of a cave where I wouldn't have to see the other people. This actually helped a lot, although I'm sure everyone else thought I was loony.


_________________
Your Aspie score: 161 of 200
Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 55 of 200
You are very likely an Aspie